Container capping apparatus



April 28, 1959 Filed Feb. 17, 1956 R. A. FORESMAN, JR

CONTAINER CAPPING APPARATUS 2 Shets-Shet 1 I INVENTOR.

ROBERT A. FORESMANJY.

BY 1 I ATTORNEYS April 28, 1959 R. A. FORESMAN, JR 2,883,817

CONTAINER CAPPING APPARATUS I Filed Feb. 17, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,883,817 CONTAINER CAPPING APPARATUS Robert A. Foresman, In, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application February 17, 1956, Serial No. 566,157

4 Claims. (Cl. 53-334) This invention relates to container capping apparatus and, more particularly, to apparatus for holding a cap on the neck of a container while forming a flange of the cap into engagement with the container.

In the capping of containers and particularly in capping containers of the type having a spring loaded valve in the cap thereof, it is necessary in the capping operation to hold the cap snugly in engagement with the end of the container and to simultaneously form the sides of the cap in engagement with the sides of the container adjacent to the end thereof.

In the assembly of caps to containers and particularly in the assembly of caps of the type including in the cap structure a spring loaded valve, it is essential that the cap be held firmly in engagement with the end of the container while the cap is being formed into engagement with a cap securing rim which is generally provided adjacent to the end of the container. Furthermore, when the cap is of the non-removable type, it is preferable to use a cap in the form of a cup in which the sides of the cup are spun and thus formed to fit tightly around a cap retaining bead provided adjacent to the open end of the container.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a simple hand operated machine which will serve to hold a cup-shaped cap assembly snugly in engagement with the end of a container such as, for example, a bottle, while forming the sides of the cup-shaped cap into engagement with the outside of the neck of the bottle around a cap retaining rim provided thereon by spinning and thus progressively deforming the sides of the cap into engagement with the sides of the container adjacent to the end thereof.

These and other objects of the invention relating particularly to details of the structure thereof will become evident from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus taken from the right-hand side of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken through the apparatus shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on the trace 55 shown in Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 4.

The apparatus includes a base structure formed of plates 10 and 12 on which there is mounted apparatus indicated generally at 14 for rotatably supporting the base portion of a container. A support column 16 is mounted on the plate 10 and supports cap engaging and deforming means indicated generally at 18.

More specifically, the apparatus includes a housing 20 supported in the plate 10 within which a vertically extending shaft 22 is rotatably mounted on a thrust bearing 24. A cap screw 26 is threaded into the upper end Patented Apr. 28, 1959 of the shaft 22 and serves to adjust the elevation of a block 28 which is fixed to the upper end of the shaft 22 by means of a set screw 30. The block 28 is provided on its upper surface with a recess within which is set a rubber cushion plate 32 adapted to receive the base of a container such as, for example, a bottle indicated by the construction line outline 34.

A gear 36 is aflixed to the lower end portion of the shaft 22 and adapted to engage with a gear 38 afiixed to a shaft 40 mounted in bearings in a mounting block 42 and rotatable by means of a hand wheel 44 mounting a handle 45.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that rotation of the hand Wheel 44 will cause rotation of a container 34 resting upon the block 28 and the elevation of the container 34 will be determined by the degree of extension of the cap screw 26 out of the shaft 22.

The support post 16 is aflixed to the top plate 10 by means of cap screws 46. The upper end portion of the support post 16 is provided with horizontally extending bores 48 adapted to receive cap screws 50 for securing to the support post 16 a mounting block 52 on which the capping apparatus is mounted. By variously selecting bores 48 for the reception of the screws 50, the elevation of the block 52 and the capping apparatus mounted thereon may be adjusted.

A cylindrical member 54 is mounted in sliding fit relation through a vertically extending bore in the block 52. The member 54 is provided with a slot 56 through which there extends a pin 58 rotatably mounted in the block 52 and extending outwardly on each side thereof. To each end of the pin 58 there is afiixed one end of a link 60, the other end of which is pivotally connected to one end of a link 62. The other ends of the links 62 are pivotally connected to a cup 64 positioned over the upper end of the cylindrical member 54 and spaced upwardly therefrom by a coil spring 666.

A capped sleeve 68 is threaded into the cylindrical member 54 and serves to retain the upper end of a spring 70, the other end of which is positioned around a pin 73, the lower end of which rests upon the pin 58. The arrangement is such that the spring 70 acting between the pin 58 and the capped sleeve 68 serves to urge the cylindrical member 54 upwardly. One of the links 60 is provided with an angle formed extension 72 having a handle 74 afiixed to its outermost end. Motion of the handle 74 to the right and downwardly, as viewed in Figures 2 and 4, will serve to rotate the shaft 58 and pull the member 54 downwardly as the links 60 rotate around the shaft 58 in a clockwise direction anddraw the links 62 downwardly. This downward motion of the member 64 will be against the urging of the spring 70 and, upon release of the handle 74, the spring 70 will return the parts to the position shown in the figures.

The lower end of the cylindrical member 54 is internally threaded at 75 and receives a cylindrical retainer 76. A thrust bearing 78 and an annular array of needle bearings 80 serve to position in the retainer a rotatable sleeve 82 which terminates at its lower end in a cap receiving member 84. The configuration of the interior of the cap receiving member is determined by the formation of a particular cap which is to be applied to .a container by the apparatus.

When the handle 74 is moved to the right and downwardly, as viewed in Figure 4, and the member 64 is carried downwardly by the force transmitted through the links 60 and 62, the cylindrical member 54 is urged downwardly by force transmitted through the spring 66. When the cap receiving member 84 comes into engagement with the cap of a container, such as the cap 86 on the container 88 shown in Figure 6,"fur'ther downward motion of the cylindrical member 54 is arrested and spring 66 is compressed. The location of the cap screws 50 and the adjustment of the base positioning screw 26 are so selected that when the handle 74 is moved downwardly and to the right, as viewed in Figures 4 and 6, the cap engaging receiver 84 engages the cap before the links 60 have moved downwardly to vertically extending positions whereafter the spring 66 is compressed bringing force to bear upon the upper end of the cylindrical member 54 and thus forcing the cap receiver 84 against the cap 86 and in turn firmly pressing the cap 86 against the uppermost end of the container 88. The spring 66 is further compressed as the handle 74 is moved downwardly until the links 60 pass just beyond a vertical position or dead center whereupon the lower end portions of the links 60 engage stop members 89 affixed to the block 52. It will be evident that the parts will retain themselves in this position due to the force of the compressed spring 66, and the assembly indicated generally at 18 will not rise until the handle 74 is moved upwardly to move the links 60 and 62 past their dead center position whereafter the spring 66 and then the spring 70 urge the parts to return to the positions shown in the drawings.

A plate 90 is aflixed to the lowermost end of the cylindrical member 54 by means of screws 91. One grip 92 of a pair of grip members 92 and 94 is afiixed to and extends from the plate 90. The other of the grip members, member 94, is afiixed to a bar 96 which is pivotally connected at 98 to the plate 90 and is positioned thereby beneath the plate 90. A small plate 100 is afiixed to the handle member 94 and positioned above the plate 90. In the region of the plate 100, the plate 100 and the bar 96 which are positioned on opposite sides of the plate 90 serve to guide the handle 94 and the bar 96.

A disc 102 is rotatably mounted below the bar 96 between fixed guide plates 104 and 106 on a stud 108 mounted on the bar 96. The disc 102 is positioned to lie on a plane immediately below the lowermost end of the cap receiving member 84 as will be evident from Figures 4 and 6. The bar 96 and the disc 102 are urged away from the cap receiving member 84 by means of a spring 110 acting between a pin 112 afiixed to the plate 100 and a wire member 114 affixed to and extending to the right from the plate 90 as viewed in Figure 4. It will be evident that by grasping the handle members 92 and 94 in one hand, an operator may bring the roller 102 to bear against the flange of a cup-shaped cap member, such as shown at 35 in Figure 4, when the capping assembly, indicated generally at 18 in Figure 4, is moved downwardly by operation of the handle 74.

In operation of the machine with the block 28 adjusted to the desired elevation by means of the screw 26, the capping assembly indicated generally at 18 positioned at a desired elevation as determined by the screws 50, an operator will position a container, such as the container 34 on the block 28 and then move the handle 74 to the right and downwardly, as viewed in Figure 4, in order to move the cap receiving member 84 downwardly into engagement of the cap 35 on the top of the bottle 34.

The handle 74 will be carried downwardly until the links 60 and 62 cross dead center and engage the stops 89 whereupon the linkage arrangement is in a locked position and the operator may take his hand from the handle 74 while the compression of the spring 66 will provide a yielding force downwardly on top of the cap 35 urging the cap into firm engagement with the uppermost end of the container. Thereafter the operator will grip the handle members 92 and 94 bringing the roller 102 to bear against the flange of the cap 35. With the parts in this position, the operator will then grasp the handle 45 on the hand wheel 44 and, by rotation of the hand wheel, cause the container 34 to rotate. Upon rotation of the container, the roller 102 will travel around the flange of the cup 35 and serve to spin or form the flange inwardly to the position occupied by the flange 87 shown in Figure 6.

After the spinning operation is completed, the operator will release the grips 92 and 94 and the spring will serve to move the roller 102 outwardly to the position shown in the figures whereupon the operator will then raise the handle 74 raising the cap receiving block 84 and permitting removal of the capped container from the apparatus.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the apparatus disclosed provides a simple and practical hand operated apparatus for capping containers. The threaded connection between the cylindrical member 54 and the cylindrical retainer 76 which mounts the cap receiving member provides for adjusting the lowermost surface of the cap receiving member on a plane immediately above that of the disc 102. The value of this will be evident when it is considered that bottles of various neck formations may be capped in the apparatus and the depth of the sides of the cap and the thickness of washers within the cap may vary. It will also be evident that various adaptors may be employed in order to provide for centralizing containers within the recess in the block 52 and, similarly, adaptors may be provided to properly position non-cylindrical containers. The apparatus is adjustable through wide limits of vertical dimension to accommodate containers of various heights and, as previously noted, the container cap receiving member 8284 is replaceable in order to accommodate caps of various dimensions and contours. It will be evident that various details of the embodiment of the invention described may be modified without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Container capping apparatus comprising means for rotatably supporting the base portion of a container, means for rotating said base supporting means and a container supported thereby, rotatable means for engaging a cap on a container supported by such base supporting means, movable means including a resilient element for supporting said rotatable cap engaging means, means including toggle links for moving said movable means and cap engaging means into engagement with and away from a cap on a container supported by said base supporting means, said toggle links being in a fixed dead center position and said resilient element being under compression when said cap engaging means is in engagement with a cap on a container supported by said base supporting means, said resilient element providing a yielding force holding the cap on the container and holding the toggle in said fixed dead center position, and means mounted on said supporting means for said cap engaging means for bringing pressure to bear upon the cap when said cap engaging means is moved into engagement with a cap to form the cap into engagement with the container as the container is rotated.

2. Container capping apparatus comprising rotatable means for supporting the base portion of a container, means for rotating said base supporting means and a container supported thereby, rotatable means for engaging a cap on a container supported by said base supporting means, movable means for supporting said rotatable cap engaging means, one of said rotatable means including a resilient element, means including toggle links for moving said movable means and cap engaging means into engagement with and away from a cap on a container supported by said base supporting means, said toggle links being in a fixed dead center position and said resilient element being under compression when said cap engaging means is in engagement with a cap on a container supported by said base supporting means, said resilient element providing a yielding force holding the cap on a container and holding the toggle in said fixed dead center position, and means for bringing pressure to bear upon the cap when said cap engaging means is moved into engagement with a cap to form the cap into engagement with the container as the container is rotated.

3. Container capping apparatus comprising rotatable means for supporting the base portion of a container, rotatable means for engaging a cap positioned on the top of the container and for supporting the top portion of the container, axially shiftable non-rotatable means mounting said cap engaging means, means for rotating one of said rotatable means for rotating a capped container positioned between and supported by said two rotatable means, cap forming means, and means mounting said forming means upon said non-rotatable means for axial shifting movement therewith, and for rotation about an axis parallel to, and for planar shifting movement transversely of, the longitudinal axis of the container for conforming the cap to the shape of the container.

4. Container capping apparatus comprising rotatable means for supporting the base portion of a container, rotatable means for engaging a cap positioned on the top of the container and for supporting the top portion of the container, axially shiftable non-rotatable means mounting said cap engaging means, means for rotating one of said rotatable means for rotating a capped container positioned between and supported by said two rotatable means, cap forming means, and means mounting said cap forming means including a pair of manually operable levers, one of said levers being fixed to said non-rotatable means for axial shifting movement of both of said levers therewith, said forming means being mounted upon the other of said levers for rotation freely about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container, said levers being pivotally interconnected for swinging movement of the form means mounting lever about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container and for planar shifting movement of said forming means transversely of the longitudinal axis of the container for conforming the cap to the shape of the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 558,760 Becker Apr. 21, 1896 741,249 Iovignot Oct. 13, 1903 1,541,389 Potdevin June 9, 1925 1,599,325 Garibaldi Sept. 7, 1926 

